I Love Old Age

I’ve been reading books by George Vaillant and Gene Cohen, and they have encouraged me.  Getting old is better than I thought.  I was pushing the concept of getting old as the last chance to get it right, have a good time, and shock the neighbors, but these two writers have shown me that there’s more to it than that

The brain makes some fundemental changes as it ages.  Some things we do better than we did when we were young.  Businesses that discriminate against older workers are doing themselves a disservice–these older workers are better at some tasks than younger ones.  Experience counts!

The brain of a younger worker has more neurons, but the older worker has more connections in the neuronal network.  When they are compared side by side, they excel on different things.  Don’t think that younger is always better.


When I took brain anatomy, science said that the brain loses neurons from about the age of about nineteen until death.  With the addition of neuro-toxins and other contaminants, we are losing thousands of brain cells a day and we never replace them. 

That is still true, but the fact I found so surprising is that we also may form new neurons.  They don’t do anything for your memory though.  Your new cells do not contain the old memories.  They are for new information.  You can learn new things and record new memories.  In other words, you can teach an old dog new tricks.  


One of the triggers to forming new neurons has to do with activity.  Both physical exercise and mental stimulation cause this formation of new neurons, but it needs to be strenuous activity.  You need to walk, cycle, or swim regularly and get tired.  Mental activity needs to be strenuous to form neurons too.  Tackle hard math problems, learn a new language, or study minute details of war or business.

There is a basic developmental shift in the brain as we age.  Gene Cohen describes the shift that occurs in the amygdalae, two almond shaped structures  in the limbic system that are important in emotional memory and fear.  In younger subjects brain scans show greater activity in the left side of the amygdala when it is stimulated, but in older subjects brain scans reveal both sides of the amygdalae are stimulated equally.  This indicates that older subjects are more controlled in their emotional response.  I guess I thought that old age had negative effects, but the learning and emotion function of the amydalae are better in old age.  They grow more integrated.  The brain has continued to develop. 

 Cheer up, folks!  Like wine and cheese, you get better with age.